CN109155787B

CN109155787B - Method and device for data transmission

Info

Publication number: CN109155787B
Application number: CN201680085745.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陆伟; 靳维生
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-05-16
Filing date: 2016-05-16
Publication date: 2020-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 2036-05-16
Also published as: CN109155787A; WO2017197563A1; EP3457662B1; US20190090128A1; EP3457662A4; US10827348B2; EP3457662A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and equipment for transmitting data. The method comprises the following steps: a mobile edge computing MEC network element receives address information of first communication equipment sent by the first communication equipment; and the MEC network element stores the address information of the first communication equipment, wherein the address information of the first communication equipment is used for determining the destination address of the uplink data packet or the first downlink data packet of the terminal. In the embodiment of the invention, the MEC network element receives the address information of the communication equipment sent by the communication equipment and stores the address information of the communication equipment, so that the MEC network element can determine the destination address of the data packet of the terminal according to the address information of the communication equipment, a data transmission channel can be established between the MEC network element and the communication equipment, and data can be transmitted between the MEC network element and the communication equipment.

Description

Method and device for data transmission

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for data transmission.

Background

To enhance the service experience of the user, a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) network element may be deployed near the access network. The MEC network element has the calculation and storage capabilities, can acquire the data message of the terminal, and performs routing after processing the data message.

There are two deployment forms of the MEC network element, one is that the MEC network element is connected with the eNB alone, and the other is that the MEC network element is connected on an S1 User Plane (S1 User Plane, S1-U for short) interface between an Evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB for short) and a Serving Gateway (SGW for short). However, there is currently no relevant solution how to establish a connection between the MEC network element and the eNB or SGW.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for data transmission, which can establish a data transmission channel between a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) network element and communication equipment.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for data transmission, including: a mobile edge computing MEC network element receives address information of first communication equipment sent by the first communication equipment; and the MEC network element stores the address information of the first communication equipment, wherein the address information of the first communication equipment is used for determining the destination address of the uplink data packet or the first downlink data packet of the terminal.

The first communication device may be an access network device or a gateway device.

The MEC network element may determine a destination address of a data packet of the terminal according to the address information of the first communication device, for example, the MEC network element uses an address identified by the address information of the first communication device as the destination address of the data packet of the terminal.

In the embodiment of the invention, the MEC network element receives the address information of the communication equipment sent by the communication equipment and stores the address information of the communication equipment, so that the MEC network element can determine the destination address of the data packet of the terminal according to the address information of the communication equipment, a data transmission channel can be established between the MEC network element and the communication equipment, and data can be transmitted between the MEC network element and the communication equipment.

In one possible design, the address information of the first communication device is used to determine a destination address of an uplink data packet of the terminal, and the method further includes: the MEC network element receives address information of second communication equipment sent by the first communication equipment; and the MEC network element stores the address information of the second communication equipment, and the address information of the second communication equipment is used for determining the destination address of the second downlink data packet of the terminal.

The first communication device is a gateway device, and the second communication device is an access network device.

In one possible design, the method further includes: and the MEC network element deletes the stored address information of the first communication equipment.

For example, the MEC network element may receive a bearer release request message sent by the first communication device, and delete the stored address information of the first communication device according to the bearer release request message, that is, release the data transmission channel between the MEC network element and the communication device. Therefore, when the terminal is switched to an idle state, the MEC network element deletes the stored related information in time, and the storage waste can be avoided.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for transmitting data, including: the method comprises the steps that a first communication device obtains address information of a mobile edge computing MEC network element; and the first communication equipment sends the address information of the first communication equipment to the MEC network element according to the address information of the MEC network element, wherein the address information of the first communication equipment is used for determining the destination address of an uplink data packet or a first downlink data packet of a terminal.

In a possible design, after the first communication device obtains the address information of the MEC network element, an address identified by the address information of the MEC network element may be used as a destination address of the data packet of the terminal.

In a possible design, the address information of the first communication device may be carried in a message sent by the first communication device to the MEC network element. For example, the communication device sends a create session request message to the MEC network element, and the modify session request message includes address information of the communication device. The create session request message may be used to request establishment of a data transmission channel with the MEC network element.

In one possible design, the communication device may further send identification information of the terminal to the MEC network element.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the first communication device sends the address information of the communication device to the MEC network element, so that the MEC network element determines the destination address of the uplink data packet of the terminal or the first downlink data packet of the terminal according to the address information of the first communication device, thereby establishing a data transmission channel between the MEC network element and the communication device, so that data can be transmitted between the MEC network element and the communication device.

In one possible design, the obtaining, by the first communication device, address information of the MEC network element includes: the communication equipment receives address information of the MEC network element sent by a mobility management network element; or, the first communication device obtains the address information of the MEC network element according to a corresponding relationship, where the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between one or both of the identifier information of the terminal and the identifier information of the first communication device and the address information of the MEC network element.

In one possible design, the address information of the first communication device is used to determine a destination address of an uplink data packet of the terminal, and the method further includes: the first communication equipment receives address information of second communication equipment sent by a mobility management network element; and the first communication equipment sends address information of the second communication equipment to the MEC network element, wherein the address information of the second communication equipment is used for determining a destination address of a second downlink data packet of the terminal.

In one possible design, the method further includes: and the first communication equipment informs the MEC network element to delete the stored address information of the communication equipment.

The embodiment of the invention can inform the MEC network element to delete the related information in time when the terminal is switched into an idle state, thereby avoiding storage waste.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for transmitting data, including: a mobility management network element acquires address information of a mobile edge computing MEC network element; and the mobility management network element sends the address information of the MEC network element to communication equipment.

Wherein, the communication device is an access network device or a gateway device.

In the embodiment of the invention, the communication equipment and the MEC network element can establish a data transmission channel by acquiring the address information of the MEC and sending the address information of the MEC network element to the communication equipment, so that the data can be transmitted between the MEC network element and the communication equipment.

In one possible design, the mobility management network element obtains the address information of the MEC network element according to a corresponding relationship, where the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between one or both of the identification information of the terminal and the identification information of the communication device and the address information of the MEC network element.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an MEC network element, where the MEC network element has a function of implementing the behavior of the MEC network element in the above method design. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the MEC network element includes a processing unit and a communication unit, and the processing unit is configured to support the MEC network element to perform corresponding functions in the above method. The communication unit is used for supporting communication between the MEC network element and other equipment. The MEC network element may further comprise a memory unit for coupling with the processing unit, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the MEC network element. As an example, the processing unit may be a processor, the communication unit may be a communication interface, and the storage unit may be a memory.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication device, where the communication device has a function of implementing the behavior of the first communication device in the above method design. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, and the processing unit is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the above method. The communication unit is used for supporting communication between the communication device and other devices. The communication device may further comprise a memory unit for coupling with the processing unit, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. As an example, the processing unit may be a processor, the communication unit may be a communication interface, and the storage unit may be a memory.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a mobility management network element, where the mobility management network element has a function of implementing a behavior of the mobility management network element in the above method design. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the mobility management element includes a processing unit and a communication unit, and the processing unit is configured to support the mobility management element to perform corresponding functions in the above method. The communication unit is used for supporting communication between the mobility management network element and other devices. The mobility management element may further comprise a storage unit for coupling with the processing unit, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the mobility management element. As an example, the processing unit may be a processor, the communication unit may be a communication interface, and the storage unit may be a memory.

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication system, where the communication system includes the MEC network element and the communication device described in the foregoing aspect; or the communication system comprises the MEC network element, the communication device and the mobility management network element in the above aspects.

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the MEC network element, which includes a program designed to execute the above aspects.

In still another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the first communication device, which includes a program designed to execute the above aspects.

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the mobility management element, which includes a program designed to execute the above aspects.

In the scheme of the embodiment of the present invention, the MEC network element receives the address information of the first communication device sent by the first communication device, so that the MEC network element can determine the destination address of the uplink data packet of the terminal or the first downlink data packet of the terminal according to the address information of the communication device, and thus a data transmission channel can be established between the MEC network element and the communication device, so that data can be transmitted between the MEC network element and the communication device.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating another application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a method for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart diagram of another method for data transmission provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart diagram of yet another method for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart diagram of another method for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an MEC network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another MEC network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobility management network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another mobility management network element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present invention are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and it can be known by those skilled in the art that the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention is also applicable to similar technical problems along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably, but those skilled in the art can understand the meaning. The terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention may include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, and various forms of User Equipment (UE), Mobile Stations (MS), terminal devices (terminal), and the like. For convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as a terminal. The access network device according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a Base Station (BS), which is a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide a wireless communication function for a terminal. The base stations may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. In systems using different radio access technologies, names of devices having a base station function may be different, for example, in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the device is called an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB), and in a 3G communication system, the device is called a node B (node B). For convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned apparatuses providing a terminal with a wireless communication function are collectively referred to as a base station or a BS.

The Mobility Management element may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a General Packet Radio System (GPRS) service Support Node (SGSN), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

However, for convenience of description, the eNB, the terminal and the MME are taken as examples to describe the solution of the embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that, although the access network device is described using the eNB as an example and the mobility management network element is described using the MME as an example, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the standard represented by these terms. Embodiments of the present invention are also applicable to other systems, and such variations fall within the scope of embodiments of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the system architecture shown in fig. 1. The main network entities in the system architecture are first described below.

Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio access network (E-UTRAN): a network consisting of a plurality of eNBs implements wireless physical layer functions, resource scheduling and wireless resource management, wireless access control and mobility management functions. The eNB is connected with the SGW through an S1-U interface and is used for transmitting user data; the S1 control plane interface (S1-MME interface) is connected with the MME, and the S1 application protocol (S1 application protocol, S1-AP for short) is adopted to realize the functions of wireless access bearing control and the like.

MME: all control plane functions mainly responsible for user and session management include Non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and security, Tracking Area List (TAL) management, selection of PGW and SGW, and the like.

SGW: the local mobility anchor point is mainly responsible for data transmission, forwarding, route switching and the like of the terminal and is used as the local mobility anchor point when the terminal is switched between eNBs.

Packet Data Network Gateway (Packet Data Network Gateway, PDN GW or PGW for short): an entry for sending data to the terminal by the external network is responsible for allocating an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal, filtering a data packet of the terminal, controlling a rate, generating charging information, and the like.

After a terminal accesses an Evolved Packet System (EPS), a PGW allocates an IP address (IP address) to the terminal, and the terminal realizes connection with an external network through the IP address to perform data transmission; all uplink data messages of the terminal can be sent to the external network through the PGW, and all downlink data messages of the external network can be sent to the terminal through the PGW.

Data messages sent or received by terminals are transmitted in an EPS network through EPS bearers (bearers for short), each terminal can have a plurality of bearers, and different bearers can meet the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of different services. The eNB and the SGW store information of each bearer, that is, bearer context, including Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) of the SGW Tunnel of the bearer and TEID information of the eNB, where the TEID of the SGW is used for an uplink data packet sent by the eNB to the SGW, and the TEID of the eNB is used for a downlink data packet sent by the SGW to the eNB. The eNB realizes synchronization of the bearer context with the MME through S1-AP information, and the SGW realizes synchronization of the bearer context with the MME through GPRS tunneling protocol-Control Plane (GTP-C for short) information; and further, the synchronization of the bearing context between the eNB and the SGW is realized.

When receiving an uplink data packet of a terminal, an eNB encapsulates the uplink data packet of the terminal into an uplink GPRS Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) packet according to a bearer context, where the uplink GTP-U packet includes a GTP-U header, and the GTP-U header includes SGW TEID information of the bearer. Because different loads can use different SGW TEIDs, when the SGW receives an uplink GTP-U message sent by the eNB, the load to which the message belongs can be judged according to a GTP-U head; when the SGW receives a downlink data message sent to the terminal, the downlink data message is packaged into a downlink GTP-U message, wherein the downlink GTP-U message comprises a GTP-U head, and the GTP-U head comprises the carried eNBEID information.

In the LTE network architecture shown in fig. 1, the process of the terminal performing the mobile service is as follows:

(1) the terminal is firstly attached to the network;

(2) the network side establishes a bearer for the terminal, and the data stream of the terminal is sent to an opposite terminal, such as an application server or an opposite terminal, through the bearer.

In the process of establishing the bearer, the MME selects an SGW and a PGW for the terminal, and then the SGW and the eNB exchange the addresses of the bearer (including the IP addresses and TEIDs of the SGW and the eNB) through the MME: that is, the SGW sends the IP address of the SGW and the TEID allocated to the bearer to the eNB through the MME, the eNB sends the IP address of the eNB and the TEID allocated to the bearer to the SGW through the MME, the eNB sends the packet to the IP address of the SGW and the address indicated by the TEID, and the SGW sends the packet to the IP address of the eNB and the address indicated by the TEID, so that the bearer between the eNB and the SGW is successfully established.

The MEC network element mainly comprises a data bus and an application, wherein the data bus is responsible for acquiring a data message of the terminal and forwarding the data message to the corresponding application, and the application can send the message back to the data bus for routing after processing the data message. Various applications can be installed on the MEC network element for enhancing the service experience of the user. The application on the MEC network element may intercept the data sent by the terminal for modification, detection, forwarding, etc., or may directly give a response to the data sent by the terminal. For example, the MEC network element may install a video cache application, when the terminal requests a video service, the request of the terminal may be processed by the video cache application, and if there is no video requested by the terminal in the video cache application, the video cache application may continue to forward the user request to the SGW; if the video cache application stores the video requested by the terminal, the video cache application can directly send the video data message to the terminal. Therefore, the MEC network element is deployed near the access network, so that the service experience of the user can be effectively improved.

Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2A, the MEC network element is serially connected to an S1-U interface between the eNB and the SGW device, that is, the eNB transmits uplink data to the SGW through the MEC network element, or the SGW transmits downlink data to the eNB through the MEC network element. According to the configuration of the operator, the MEC network element may establish a connection with the eNB, or the MEC network element may also establish a connection with the SGW.

Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of another application scenario of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2B, the MEC network element is separately connected to the eNB, and may also be referred to as an MEC network element externally hung on the eNB.

It should be noted that the embodiment of the present invention may also be used in a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or a Global system for Mobile Communications (GSM)/Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network, GERAN). Unlike the LTE network, in UTRAN or GERAN, the function of MME is performed by SGSN, and the function of SGW or PGW is performed by Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN).

Fig. 3 is a communication diagram of a method 300 for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 300 may be performed during a process of accessing the network by the terminal (e.g., an attach process or a service request process of the terminal).

As shown in fig. 3, the method 300 includes the following.

310. The first communication device obtains address information of the MEC network element.

The address information of the MEC network element may include one or both of an IP address of the MEC network element and a TEID of the MEC network element.

In one example, the first communication device may obtain address information of a preconfigured MEC network element, or the first communication device may also obtain address information of the MEC network element from the MME.

In another example, the first communication device may further obtain address information of the MEC network element according to a correspondence relationship between one or both of the identification information of the terminal and the identification information of the first communication device and the address information of the MEC network element. For example, the corresponding relationship is stored in the MEC network element query system, and the MEC network element may query the MEC network element query system according to the identification information of the terminal and/or the identification information of the first communication device to obtain the address information of the MEC network element.

320. And the first communication equipment sends the address information of the first communication equipment to the MEC network element according to the address information of the MEC network element, wherein the address information of the first communication equipment is used for determining the destination address of the uplink data packet or the first downlink data packet of the terminal.

So that a data transmission channel can be established between the first communication device and the MEC network element.

The identifier information of the terminal is used to identify the terminal, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the form of the identifier information of the terminal, for example, the identifier information of the terminal may be a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI), an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), an eNB UE 1-AP ID, an MME UE S1-AP ID, or the like. The eNB UE S1-AP ID is an identifier allocated to the terminal by the eNB, and the MME UE S1-AP ID is an identifier allocated to the terminal by the MME

The address information of the first communication device may include one or both of an IP address of the first communication device and a TEID of the first communication device.

330. The MEC network element stores address information of the first communication device.

At this time, a data transmission channel between the MEC network element and the first communication device may be established.

In one example, the first communication device may further notify the MEC network element to delete the stored address information of the first communication device. For example, when there is no data transmission in the network and the terminal is turned into the idle state, the first communication device may notify the MEC network element to delete the stored address information of the first communication device, so that resources of the air interface can be saved. Correspondingly, the MEC network element may delete the stored address information of the first communication device according to the notification of the first communication device.

In the scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the first communication equipment sends the address information of the first communication equipment to the MEC network element, so that the MEC network element can determine the destination address of the uplink data packet of the terminal or the first downlink data packet of the terminal according to the address information of the communication equipment, and a data transmission channel can be established between the MEC network element and the communication equipment, so that data can be transmitted between the MEC network element and the communication equipment.

It should be noted that the first communication device may be an access network device or a gateway device. For example, the first communication device may be an access network device, and the method 300 may be applied to the application scenarios shown in fig. 2A and fig. 2B, so that a data transmission channel is established between the access network device and the MEC network element. When the first communication device is an access network device, the address information of the first communication device is used for determining the destination address of the first downlink data packet of the terminal. For another example, the first communication device may be a gateway device, and the method 300 may be applied to the application scenario shown in fig. 2A, so that a data transmission channel is established between the MEC network element and the gateway device. When the first communication device is a gateway device, the address information of the first communication device is used for determining the destination address of the uplink data packet of the terminal. Further, the first communication device may further receive address information of the second communication device sent by the mobility management network element; and sending address information of the second communication equipment to the MEC network element, wherein the address information of the second communication equipment is used for determining a destination address of a second downlink data packet of the terminal. Wherein the second communication device may be an access network device.

The first downlink packet of the terminal or the second downlink packet of the terminal may be the same packet or may be different packets, and the distinction between the first and second packets is made to reflect different determination methods of the destination address of the downlink packet of the terminal, and is not limited to the above.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the gateway device may be an SGW, or may be a gateway device having both an SGW function and a PGW function.

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention with reference to fig. 4 to 6.

Fig. 4 is a communication diagram of another method 400 for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in fig. 4 will be described below by taking the first communication device as an eNB and the second communication device as an SGW as an example.

401. The terminal sends an attach request message to the MME through the eNB.

402. The MME sends a create session request message to the SGW.

403. The SGW sends a create session request message to the PGW.

404. The PGW sends a create session response message to the SGW.

It should be appreciated that when the SGW and PGW are deployed in a merged manner, steps 403 and 404 need not be performed.

405. The SGW sends a create session response message to the MME, where the message includes address information of the SGW, such as an IP address of the SGW, or an IP address and TEID of the SGW.

406. And the MME acquires the address information of the MEC network element.

In an example, the MME may obtain the address information of the MEC network element by querying the MEC network element querying system according to at least one of the identification information of the terminal, the identification information of the eNB, and the address information of the eNB.

In another example, address information of the MEC network element may be further preconfigured on the MME, and the MME may obtain the preconfigured address information of the MEC network element.

The part 406 is an optional part, and the MME may also directly perform the part 407 after receiving the create session response message (i.e., the part 405) sent by the SGW.

407. The MME sends an initial context setup request message/attach accept message to the eNB, which includes address information of the SGW. The eNB may use the address identified by the address information of the SGW as the destination address of the uplink packet of the terminal.

In an example, the initial context setup request message/attach accept message may further include data flow direction indication information, such as Uplink (Uplink).

It should be noted that, if the MME executes the step 406, accordingly, the initial context setup request message/attach accept message may further include address information of the MEC network element.

408. And the eNB sends a session creation request message to the MEC network element according to the address information of the MEC network element, wherein the session creation request message comprises the address information of the eNB and the address information of the SGW.

The SGW and the MEC network element may establish a GTP-based tunnel connection, and the address information of the SGW carried in the create session request message may include an IP address and a TEID of the SGW.

In one example, the eNB may obtain the address information of the MEC network element by: for example, the eNB acquires address information of the MEC network element from an initial context setup request message/attach accept message sent by the MME; for another example, the eNB may also configure address information of the MEC network element; for another example, the eNB may further obtain address information of the MEC network element by querying the MEC network element querying system based on the location information of the terminal and/or the location information of the eNB. In the latter two ways, the MME may not perform part 406.

In another example, the eNB and the MEC network element may be in an IP connection, and the address information of the eNB carried in the create session request message includes an IP address of the eNB. Or, the eNB and the MEC network element may also be connected to each other by a GTP-based tunnel, and the address information of the eNB carried in the created session request message includes the IP address and the TEID of the eNB.

Therefore, the MEC network element may establish context information of the terminal according to the address information of the eNB and the address information of the SGW. For example, the MEC network element may use the address identified by the address information of the eNB as the destination address of the downlink data packet of the terminal, and use the address identified by the address information of the SGW as the destination address of the uplink data packet of the terminal.

409. And the MEC network element receives the session creation request message and sends a session creation response message to the eNB.

A data transmission channel between the eNB and the MEC network element may be established through the 409 portion.

410. The eNB sends an initial context setup request response message to the MME, where the initial context setup request response message may include address information of the MEC network element.

In the prior art, the initial context setup request response message includes address information of the eNB, and in the embodiment of the present invention, the initial context setup request response message uses address information of the MEC network element as address information of the eNB.

411. And the MME sends a modified bearing request message to the SGW, wherein the modified bearing request message comprises address information of the MEC network element so as to establish a data transmission channel from the SGW to the MEC network element.

The MEC network element is connected with the SGW through an S1-U interface, namely, GTP tunnel connection is adopted between the MEC network element and the SGW, and the address information of the MEC network element carried in the modified bearing request message comprises the IP address and the TEID of the MEC network element.

In the prior art, the modified bearer request message includes address information of the eNB, but in the embodiment of the present invention, the address information of the MEC network element is used as the address information of the eNB, and for the SGW, the received address information of the eNB is actually the address information of the MEC network element, so that the SGW can send the downlink data packet to the MEC network element.

412. And the SGW sends a bearer modification response message to the MME, and at the moment, a data transmission channel from the SGW to the MEC network element can be successfully established.

It should be noted that the messages in the above sections may include identification information of the terminal, which is used to identify the terminal.

It should be noted that fig. 4 is only described by taking the SGW and the PGW as examples for separate deployment. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the SGW may also be deployed in combination with the PGW.

In the solution of the embodiment of the present invention, a connection is established between the MEC network element and the access network device (e.g., eNB), and the gateway device (e.g., SGW) is notified of the address information of the MEC network element as the address information of the access network device, that is, the gateway device uses the MEC network element as the access network device.

In other words, under the condition that the core network device (such as MME \ SGW \ PGW, etc.) is not modified, the address information of the MEC network element may be transmitted to the gateway device through the access network device (such as eNB), and the address information of the gateway device is also notified to the MEC network element.

In a certain time period, if there is no data transmission in the network, the terminal changes from the connected state to the idle state, and when the terminal changes to the idle state, the bearers among the terminal, the eNB, and the SGW are deleted, so as to save the resources of the air interface. Accordingly, the context information of the terminal on the eNB is also deleted. In order to avoid memory waste, the MEC network element needs to be notified in time to delete the context information of the terminal. As shown in fig. 5.

501. And the eNB sends a bearing release request message to the MEC network element, wherein the bearing release request message comprises information such as the identification of the terminal.

502. And the MEC network element receives the bearing request message, deletes the stored context information of the terminal according to the bearing release request message, releases a data transmission channel between the MEC network element and the eNB and sends a bearing release response message to the eNB. Wherein the context information of the terminal includes address information of the eNB.

Fig. 6 is a communication diagram of another method 600 for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

601. The terminal sends an attachment request message to the MME through access network equipment eNB;

602. and the MME acquires the address information of the MEC network element.

In an example, the MME may obtain the address information of the MEC network element by querying the MEC network element querying system according to at least one of the identification information of the terminal, the identification information of the eNB, and the address information of the eNB. Alternatively, the address information of the MEC network element may be preconfigured on the MME.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned portion 602 is an optional portion.

603. The MME sends a create session request message to the SGW.

When the MME performs part 602, the create session request message may include address information of the MEC network element.

604. The SGW sends a create session request to the PGW gateway.

605. The PGW sends a create session response message to the SGW.

It should be appreciated that when the SGW and PGW are deployed in a merged manner, the 604 and 605 parts need not be performed.

606. And the SGW sends a session creating response message to the MME, wherein the session creating response message comprises the address information of the SGW.

The messages referred to in sections 601, 603 to 606 may each include identification information of the terminal, and will not be described in detail here.

The execution order of the 606 and 602 sections is not limited, and the 602 section may be executed after the 606 section.

607. And the SGW sends a session establishing request message to the MEC network element according to the address information of the MEC network element, wherein the session establishing request message comprises the identification information of the terminal and the address information of the SGW so as to establish a data transmission channel between the SGW and the MEC network element.

The create session request message may be used to notify the MEC network element to establish context information of the terminal.

In one example, the SGW may obtain the address information of the MEC network element by: for example, the SGW may obtain address information of the MEC network element from the MME; for another example, the SGW may also obtain address information of the MEC network element by querying the MEC network element querying system; for another example, the address information of the MEC network element may be configured in the SGW in advance. In the latter two approaches, the MME may not perform part 602.

In another example, the SGW and the MEC network element may be an IP connection, and the address information of the SGW includes an IP address of the SGW. Or, the SGW and the MEC network element may be in GTP-based tunnel connection, and the address information of the SGW includes an IP address and a TEID of the SGW.

608. And the MEC network element receives the session creation request message, stores the address information of the SGW and sends a session creation response to the SGW. Wherein, the create session response message may include address information of the MEC network element.

A data transmission path between the MEC network element and the SGW may be established via portion 608.

Portions 607 and 608 may be executed after portion 606, may be executed before portion 606, may also be executed simultaneously with portion 606, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

609. The MME sends an initial context setup request message/attach accept message to the eNB, wherein the initial context setup request message/attach accept message comprises address information of the MEC network element so as to establish a data transmission channel from the eNB to the MEC network element.

It should be noted that, in the prior art, the initial context setup request message/attach accept message includes the address information of the SGW, and in the embodiment of the present invention, the address information of the MEC network element is sent to the MME as the address information of the SGW.

The eNB and the MEC network element may establish a GTP-based tunnel connection, and the address information of the MEC network element may include an IP address and a TEID of the MEC network element.

The eNB will send the received uplink data packet to the MEC network element.

610. The eNB sends an initial context setup request response message to the MME, wherein the initial context setup request response message comprises address information of the eNB. At this time, a data transmission channel from the eNB to the MEC network element may be established.

The eNB will send the uplink data packet of the terminal to the MEC network element.

611. And the MME sends a modification bearing request message to the SGW, wherein the modification bearing request message comprises the address information of the eNB so as to establish a data transmission channel from the SGW to the eNB.

612. And the SGW sends a session modification request message to the MEC network element, wherein the session modification request message comprises the address information of the eNB so as to establish a data transmission channel from the MEC network element to the eNB.

In one example, the modification session request message may further include a direction identifier of the downstream data stream. That is, for the downlink data stream, the address of the packet is the address information of the eNB.

613. And the MEC network element receives the session modification request message, stores the address information of the eNB and sends a session modification response message to the SGW.

At this time, a data transmission channel from the MEC network element to the eNB may be established. The MEC network element sends the downlink data packet of the terminal to the eNB.

614. The SGW sends a modify bearer response message to the MME.

The modify bearer response message may be used to inform the MME that a data transmission channel from the MEC network element to the eNB has been established.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the address information of the MEC network element is used as the address information of the gateway device to notify the access network device (eNB), that is, the access network device uses the MEC network element as the gateway device.

In the embodiment of the invention, the connection is established between the gateway equipment and the MEC network element, then the address information of the MEC network element is used as the address information of the gateway equipment to inform the access network equipment through the signaling message between the existing equipment, and the address information of the access network equipment is also informed to the MEC network element through the gateway equipment.

It should be noted that fig. 4 and fig. 6 only describe the terminal attachment process as an example, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, for example, the scheme of the embodiment of the present invention may also be applied to a service request process and the like.

It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiment of the present invention.

The method for data transmission according to the embodiment of the present invention is described in detail above with reference to fig. 3 to 6, and the apparatus for transmitting data according to the embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to fig. 7 to 12.

The above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention have been introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is to be understood that each network element, for example, a communication device (such as a gateway device or an access network device), an MEC network element, a mobility management network element, etc., contains a hardware structure and/or a software module for performing each function in order to implement the above functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software, with the exemplary elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to the above method example, functional units of a communication device (such as a gateway device or an access network device), an MEC network element, a mobility management network element, and the like may be divided, for example, each functional unit may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated in one processing unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present invention is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

In case of using integrated units, fig. 7 shows a possible structural schematic diagram of the MEC network element involved in the above embodiments. The MEC network element 700 comprises a processing unit 710 and a communication unit 720. Processing unit 710 is configured to control and manage actions of the MEC network element, e.g., processing unit 710 is configured to support the MEC network element to perform process 330 in fig. 3, process 409 in fig. 4, process 502 in fig. 5, process 608 and process 613 in fig. 6, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. The communication unit 720 is configured to support communication between the MEC network element and other network entities, for example, an eNB, an MME, an SGW, etc. shown in fig. 2A. The MEC network element may further comprise a storage unit 730 for storing program codes and data of the MEC network element.

The processing Unit 710 may be a Processor or a controller, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a general-purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The communication unit 720 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a generic term and may include one or more interfaces. The storage unit 730 may be a memory.

When the processing unit 710 is a processor, the communication unit 720 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 730 is a memory, the MEC network element according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the MEC network element shown in fig. 8.

Referring to fig. 8, the MEC network element 800 includes: processor 810, communication interface 820, memory 830. Optionally, the MEC network element 800 may further include a bus 840. Wherein, the communication interface 820, the processor 810 and the memory 830 may be connected to each other by a bus 840; the bus 840 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus 840 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one line is shown in FIG. 8, but this does not represent only one bus or one type of bus.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of the communication device involved in the above embodiment. The communication device 900 comprises a processing unit 910 and a communication unit 920. It should be understood that the communication device 900 may be an access network device or a gateway device. Processing unit 910 is configured to control and manage actions of a communication device, e.g., processing unit 910 is configured to support a communication device to perform processes 310 and 320 in fig. 3 and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. It should be appreciated that when communication device 900 is an access network device, processing unit 910 is configured to enable the communication device to perform process 408 in fig. 4, and process 501 in fig. 5. When communication device 900 is a gateway device, processing unit 910 is configured to enable the communication device to perform process 501 in fig. 5, process 607 and process 612 in fig. 6. The communication unit 920 is configured to support communication between the communication device and other network entities, for example, the MME shown in fig. 2A. The communication device may further comprise a memory unit 930 for storing program codes and data of the communication device.

The processing unit 910 may be a processor or a controller, and may be, for example, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The communication unit 920 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a generic term and may include one or more interfaces. The storage unit 930 may be a memory.

When the processing unit 910 is a processor, the communication unit 920 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 930 is a memory, the communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the communication device shown in fig. 10.

Referring to fig. 10, the communication device 1000 includes: a processor 1010, a communication interface 1020, and a memory 1030. Optionally, communication device 1000 may also include a bus 1040. Wherein, the communication interface 1020, the processor 1010 and the memory 1030 may be connected to each other by a bus 1040; bus 1040 may be a PCI bus or EISA bus, etc. The bus 1040 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one line is shown in FIG. 10, but it is not intended that there be only one bus or one type of bus.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of the mobility management network element involved in the above embodiments. The mobility management network element 1100 comprises a processing unit 1110 and a communication unit 1120. It should be understood that the mobility management network element 1100 may be an access network device or a gateway device. Processing unit 1110 is configured to control and manage actions of the mobility management element, e.g., processing unit 1110 is configured to support the mobility management element to perform processes 406 and 407 in fig. 4, processes 602 and 603 in fig. 6, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. The communication unit 1120 is configured to support communication between the mobility management network element and other network entities, e.g. the eNB, the SGW shown in fig. 2A. The mobility management element may further comprise a storage unit 1130 for storing program codes and data of the mobility management element.

The processing unit 1110 may be a processor or a controller, and may be, for example, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The communication unit 1120 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is generally referred to and may include one or more interfaces. The storage unit 1130 may be a memory.

When the processing unit 1110 is a processor, the communication unit 1120 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 1130 is a memory, the mobility management element according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the mobility management element shown in fig. 12.

Referring to fig. 12, the mobility management network element 1200 includes: a processor 1210, a communication interface 1220, and a memory 1230. Optionally, the mobility management element 1200 may further comprise a bus 1240. The communication interface 1220, the processor 1210, and the memory 1230 may be connected to each other through a bus 1240; the bus 1240 may be a PCI bus or an EISA bus, etc. The bus 1240 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one line is shown in FIG. 12, but this does not represent only one bus or one type of bus.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware or in software executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash Memory, Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a compact disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a gateway device or a mobility management network element. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a gateway device or a mobility management network element.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in connection with the embodiments of the invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The above-mentioned embodiments are intended to illustrate the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention in further detail, and it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only specific embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for data transmission, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first communication device obtains address information of a mobile edge computing MEC network element;

the first communication device sends address information of the first communication device to the MEC network element according to the address information of the MEC network element, wherein the address information of the first communication device is used for the MEC network element to determine a destination address of an uplink data packet or a first downlink data packet of a terminal, and is used for the MEC network element and the first communication device to establish a data transmission channel between the MEC network element and the first communication device;

the acquiring, by the first communication device, address information of the MEC network element includes:

the first communication device obtains the address information of the MEC network element according to a corresponding relationship, wherein the corresponding relationship is the corresponding relationship between one or both of the identification information of the terminal and the identification information of the first communication device and the address information of the MEC network element.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and the first communication equipment informs the MEC network element to delete the stored address information of the first communication equipment.

3. A communication device, comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit, wherein,

the processing unit is used for acquiring address information of the mobile edge computing MEC network element; and the communication unit is used for sending the address information of the communication equipment to the MEC network element according to the address information of the MEC network element, wherein the address information of the communication equipment is used for the MEC network element to determine the destination address of an uplink data packet or a first downlink data packet of a terminal, and is used for the MEC network element and the communication equipment to establish a data transmission channel between the MEC network element and the communication equipment;

the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain the address information of the MEC network element according to a corresponding relationship, where the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between one or both of the identifier information of the terminal and the identifier information of the communication device and the address information of the MEC network element.

4. The communication device according to any of claim 3, wherein the processing unit is further configured to notify, by the communication unit, the MEC network element to delete the stored address information of the communication device.